Representações de adolescentes sobre HIV/AIDS com enfoque na sexualidade e na vulnerabilidade às infecções sexualmente transmissíveis

Abstract

AIDS is a syndrome acquired through HIV infection, whether through sexual contact or contaminated blood. Infection can reach people of all age groups, since transmission occurs from birth, during childbirth or through breastfeeding, when the mother is infected with HIV, in addition to sexual transmission or use of syringes and materials contaminated with the blood of people infected. The highest increase in AIDS cases is among 15-24 years old. In the last eight years, there have been almost 30,000 new cases in this population group, which represents an average of 10 new cases per day. This chart highlights the importance of promoting health and prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and AIDS for this population group. The discovery of sexuality for the adolescent has a broad character, because it involves beliefs, changes of attitudes and infantile postures before the society, and is part of its growth and development as a person and social subject. The promotion of sexual health is necessary for the knowledge and self-knowledge of adolescents in their new sexual discoveries, besides the knowledge and construction of healthy behaviors with respect to the risk of infection by STIs and AIDS. In this way, the questions arise: how are adolescents facing sexuality and HIV / AIDS prevention? What are and how are their representations made on these two subjects? It will be sought to understand what AIDS means for this group of the population that is initiating a sexual and loving life and whose rates of incidence of HIV infection are increasing at times of advances in treatments but without definitive cure of the disease , With a focus on the ways of representing the representations and according to the social categories. The purpose of the present study is to understand representations of adolescents of both sexes on HIV / AIDS, focusing on sexuality and vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections. This is a research with a qualitative approach based on the theory of Representations, from the perspective of Alain Giami, and included in the study 28 adolescents high school students of two state public schools. Data collection took place through open interviews, held individually at agreed times and locations between the researchers and the direction of the schools. All interviews were recorded in audio and transcribed in full. The interviews were of the in-depth type, with a semi-structured script, containing questions that allowed the participant to narrate facts, express their points of view, value judgments, and evaluate actions and ways of thinking about sexuality, sexual health and risk of infection HIV and other STIs, yours and others. The data were interpreted based on the Structural Analysis of Narration, being grouped into two categories: Sexuality; Risks involved in sexual intercourse. This study highlighted the complexity that involves issues related to sexuality and adolescence, just as adolescents deal with the risks of becoming infected with an STI. There are differences between representations of sexual relations for adolescent females and males. For girls, the sexual practice is directly related to love and trust with the partner, while for boys, sexual intercourse has a strong connection to pleasure and desire. Issues related to virginity and sexual orientation of adolescents were also raised. Through the reports analyzed, it can be stated that the representations of adolescents about STIs revolve around AIDS, because it is considered the best known STI, although they also know about other STIs. The representations of adolescents about sexuality and about HIV / AIDS prevention are structured more in their exchanges and experiences in the social space, with colleagues and friends, than in family institutions and in school. It is necessary that there be continuous actions and not only in specific periods, as in the carnival. Throughout the year, actions should be developed for sexual orientation of adolescents, involving psycho-sociological rather than just biological issues.